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While preparing an article this week for a local newspaper on the nighttime denizens of Tobago, it crossed my mind that I never considered owls as a group, far less target species for any particular outing (except for a select few, upon which I shall expound here). involve owls. Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl.
As we have already mentioned here on 10,000 Birds, Snowy Owls are in the middle of a pretty epic irruption , and they are facing all kinds of pressure, from people harassing them to crows and falcons taking exception to their presence. Peregrine Falcon dive-bombing a Snowy Owl by Tom Johnson. Can you blame it?
An Imposing Great Gray Owl, by Carlos Sanchez. Great Gray Owl , Northern Hawk Owl , Snowy Owl – this trinity captures the imagination of most birders with their imposing presence, unique adaptations, and beauty as among the most desired species of bird to see in the world.
What is it about Owls that casts such a spell over folk? A recent experience left me upside-down in a drift of pine needles as finding myself face-to-face with a Barred Owl was such a shock that I lost the power of standing. Owls were at the forefront of my mind, but then aren’t they always? Birds Barred Owl'
Win a Copy of Hawks at a Distance Great Horned Owl Taking a Deer Leg Cats Are Still Public Enemy Number One, For Birds Crossley ID Guide Giveaway Winners.Or • Explore These Related Posts More Habitat for Snowy Plover? These Blasts From The Past Bald Eagles are Getting Spoiled… Help Save Migratory Birds! Wicked, right?
Astute readers, er, well, readers with any brain activity at all, will probably have realized by now that the lump was a Great Horned Owl ! I got out of the car and watched the owl for awhile. Sadly, I lack a good microphone so you can’t hear the owls but you can see essentially what I was seeing.
For many birders, the Pel’s Fishing Owl roosts in a lofty position on just such a list. One of the most highly desirable birds in the world, the Pel’s Fishing Owl is a true phantom. Found patchily in sub-Saharan Africa, this large, ginger-colored owl can never be guaranteed on a trip to the continent.
The last couple of weeks have really been a boom for me personally, as far as spotting our local owls goes. Getting to actually see four species, in the last two weeks, and to hear two more is almost unheard of in my experience. It all started in getting to photograph the Northern Pygmy-owls in Madera Canyon.
Screech-owls don’t actually screech. I suppose that sounds better than “tremulous”, “modulating”, or “little hooting” owls even if any of those names would be more accurate. One of the more recently, officially recognized screech-owl species is the Choco Screech-Owl.
Have you heard of a small town in Serbia graced by the presence of its 700 communally roosting Long-eared Owls ? The world record 734 Long-eared Owls were counted here in December 2009, in the pines and spruces, lime, chestnut and nettle trees lining the central square by the orthodox church in Kikinda.
During our tenure there, we had exceptional views of Africa’s largest ( Verreaux’s Eagle-Owl ) and smallest ( African Scops Owl ) owls, the largest bird on the planet, not neglecting numerous hornbills, sunbirds and weavers. Greyish Eagle-Owl. Pearl-spotted Owlet. Gambaga Flycatcher. Speckle-fronted Weaver.
Though the late night Barred Owls were nice and the Bald Eagle hanging out on the lake was very pleasant, Corey most preferred when he came across a mixed flock of wood-warblers. If you’ve blogged about your weekend experience, you should include a link in your comment. What was your best bird of the weekend?
My daughter and I visited Owl Woods in search of winter finches but were surprised to find owls instead; obviously, the name of this legendary birding site suggests otherwise, but encountering both a Saw-whet and Barred Owl on the same autumn day was both unexpected and thrilling. What was your best bird of the weekend?
Though Corey really enjoyed a ginormous flock of gannets on Sunday morning his Best Bird of the Weekend was a Short-eared Owl , his first of 2020, at Edgemere Landfill in the predawn light on Saturday. It’s hard to top an owl! If you’ve blogged about your weekend experience, you should include a link in your comment.
I think everyone can readily admit that owls are cool. Yet, these very qualities are what make them so difficult to see as birders, and in my years of birding I had managed to spot just two: the Snowy Owl (which is active during the daytime) and the Barred Owl. One particular family of owls had particularly evaded me.
Now that late winter has eased into early spring, it seems owls are in the air. I’m hearing all kinds of owl howls, from Saw-whets at (where else?) Owl Woods and Short-eared Owls from New York to the Galapagos Islands. One birder known to many of us even had her life Barn Owl turn up in her backyard!
Corey overcame such weakness: his Best Bird of the Weekend was a Great Horned Owl on a nest at a location in Queens he wishes not to disclose. Though seeing an owl on a nest is an awesome experience there can be too much of a good thing for a sought-after species in a vulnerable situation. At least I could see American Robins.
Most of the breeders seemed to have departed already on their journeys south but he did enjoy a Barred Owl serenade in the wee hours of the morning two days in a row so the Barred Owl wins as his Best Bird of the Weekend. If you’ve blogged about your weekend experience, you should include a link in your comment. How about you?
Mongaup Pond in Sullivan County is a great place to beat the heat of summer and an even better place to hear duetting Barred Owls while you are lying in your tent. Those owls were easily Corey’s Beat Birds of the Weekend. If you’ve blogged about your weekend experience, you should include a link in your comment. How about you?
But hands-on bird experience has been a major gap in my knowledge to date and I’m astounded at how much more I’m discovering about birds. At first, from a distance, I thought it was a hawk or an owl. I hope to have another experience with ole Bucket Mouth when I’m next out at the nets.
The usual understanding of why irruptions of birds – from Red-breasted Nuthatches to Snowy Owls – occurs is that there is a shortage of food. Birders are delighted by Snowy Owls. Remember that friend of mine that saw 17 breeding pairs of Snowy Owls in a single valley? No lemmings left in the north?
Corey’s Best Bird of the Weekend was an adorable Northern Saw-whet Owl at an undisclosed location in Queens. No matter who found it a Northern Saw-whet Owl is always a pleasure. If you’ve blogged about your weekend experience, you should include a link in your comment. How about you? Birding best bird weekend'
Birding that starts with the largest eagle of the continent certainly bears promises… The next stop is the town park in Opovo, north of Belgrade, where local bird expert Ceda Vuckovic reported one, locally rare, Short-eared Owl. Long-eared Owls are irresistibly cute. Not far from it, several Long-eared Owls douse in winter sun.
Corey’s Best Bird of the Weekend was a Long-eared Owl in Central Park, one of two perched in a pine, on Superb Owl Sunday. What’s not to like about an enigmatic owl in one of the world’s most-visited parks? If you’ve blogged about your weekend experience, you should include a link in your comment.
Ivy and I couldn’t shake an owl out of Owl Woods but we walked away with all kinds of FOY species such as the unexpected Yellow-bellied Sapsucker calling high in a tree. If you’ve blogged about your weekend experience, you should include a link in your comment. What was your best bird of the weekend?
As promised, I finally made it up to Owl Woods and the Braddock Bay area. Too bad the hawks and owls couldn’t make it too! If you’ve blogged about your weekend experience, you should include a link in your comment. But like it or not, most of us have filed our tax returns. What was your best bird of the weekend?
One of my highlight stories was my first experience with the sounds of a Rufescent Tiger-Heron. Lots of insects vocalizing at a time was one cool experience. Insects sounds taper off after a few hours letting owls, nightjars, pygmy-owls and potoos finally be clearly heard.
I knocked down several first birds of spring this weekend (not literally) but will always give Best Bird honors to a Saw-whet Owl , especially one showing as well as the one Ivy and I located at Owl Woods on Easter. If you’ve blogged about your weekend experience, you should include a link in your comment.
Corey had quite a few species from which to choose for his Best Bird of the Weekend but he couldn’t resist deciding on the Snowy Owl he watched and digiscoped at Tiana Beach in Suffolk County on Saturday. If you’ve blogged about your weekend experience, you should include a link in your comment. Birding best bird weekend'
Further north, we slow down by the ruins of an old farm… and yes, a Little Owl greets us with its ‘smiling’ face. even before I took binoculars, I was always chasing, hmm… impressionable experiences. Belgrade lies on the cranes’ migratory corridor and, especially in Spring, flocks are regularly spotted above the city.
I’ve always equated winter with big predatory birds like Snowy Owls and Rough-legged Hawks. He eventually decided to choose small flock of three Red Crossbills he spotted because crossbills are always awesome, though the fact that neither the Snowy Owl nor the Lapland Longspur made the cut is kind of absurd. How about you?
Though I traveled to NYC this weekend, Ivy and I nailed down our best bird before I left; a Short-eared Owl has been hunting at a local park not 10 minutes from our house, which makes for the easiest owl sighting we’ve snagged in a long time! What was your best bird of the weekend?
So many sexy snow birds pop up this time of year: Snow Buntings , Snow Geese , Snowy Owls … But if you’re like me, you couldn’t get out to see them this weekend. If you’ve blogged about your weekend experience, you should include a link in your comment. Too much snow! What was your best bird of the weekend?
I thought for sure that Wild Turkeys on the wing would be the highlight of my birding weekend, but that we before I came upon a Barred Owl in broad daylight perched on a power line in Alma, NY. If you’ve blogged about your weekend experience, you should include a link in your comment. Hope you made the most of it!
, here’s the place to swap stories about the ones that didn’t get away during the weekend… Corey and I combed coastal Queens on Saturday for crackers like Ross’s Goose and Snowy Owl but came up with only ordinary winter seabirds. What was your best bird of the weekend?
Corey was so bummed about having to lead an Owl Prowl in an area with no owls that he decided there were no good birds this weekend. If you’ve blogged about your weekend experience, you should include a link in your comment. How about you? What was your best bird of the weekend?
I tried to rustle up some Short-eared Owls down at Nations Road, a notorious haunt for these magnificent beasts. Curse my rotten owl luck, I didn’t see a single one, but did manage a pale Rough-legged Hawk. If you’ve blogged about your weekend experience, you should include a link in your comment.
Those birds that get to experience northern winters apparently lose their easygoing southern nature and become very very angry. The Burrowing Owl is one amazingly angry bird. Anger is sometimes justified and the Burrowing Owl ‘s anger should be respected and, if you are a tasty bug or rodent, feared. … a.
If you cannot share the bird with your guest, try not to share the experience because it makes everything they have seen a little league birding, compared to your mega tick. And that experience has recently put me in a role of an ecotourism consultant in a project aiming at creation of a local ecotourism product.
My weekend was fantastic, considering I’m already two owls into the new year. If you’ve blogged about your weekend experience, you should include a link in your comment. However, one weekend always delivers on the promise of some of the most thrilling and non-judgmental birding encounters of any year. Which one is that?
Many of these species were very high on my life bird wish list, and the country itself would be a totally new experience: a vibrant and enchanting culture, a varied and tasty cuisine, and stunning and new landscapes. We decided to take it easy that first evening and try owling on another date. I could not refuse. Time flew by.
A Barred Owl called from the woods near his aunt and uncle’s house, Corey spotted several Virginia Rails in a wetland, and he saw hordes of Ruby-throated Hummingbirds coming to feeders. If you’ve blogged about your weekend experience, you should include a link in your comment. What was your best bird of the weekend?
Corey, on the other hand, birded like a boss; his Best Bird of the Weekend™ was either of the two Snowy Owls at Breezy Point in Queens. On Saturday, he only found one out there but with his folks visiting he made another trip out with the whole family and spotted both owls, one of them a gorgeous adult male.
Corey could have chosen any of three species of owls that he tracked down in the Bronx this weekend as his Best Bird of the Weekend, but for some reason he was really digging the Bufflehead he spotted in several locations, particularly the one coming in for a landing in the photo. Owls are just too easy to appreciate. How about you?
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